No Place Like Home
by Miss Starfire
Summary: Set after the Season 2 finale. He should have let her know of his plan and she should have known better. What neither of them saw coming, however, was that his charade would become true. SPOILERS AHEAD.
1. Prologue

**Summary:** Set after the Season 2 finale. He should have let her know of his plan and she should have known better. What neither of them saw coming, however, was that his charade would become true.

**Standard disclaimer for all my stories**: My stories are graphic, angsty, frustrating, filled with cliffhangers, drama and foul language. Read at your own risk – medical issues and subsequent bills are not covered by yours truly ;) If you don't like, please don't read. I appreciate reviews and constructive feedback but if you cannot stand the plot, save yourself and me some time and walk away. I don't own _Arrow_. My stories are better viewed by using the "half screen" option of FFNET

**Warning:** I am angry at the season finale. Expect lashing out at Mr. Queen here. But yes, I still fucking ship them. SPOILERS AHEAD.

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**No Place Like Home**

**Prologue**

_"Let's go home,"_ Felicity had told Oliver after checking up on Slade Wilson even though there was technically no _home_ for him to return to. The Foundry had been compromised and his secondary lair was not in the best of shapes to spend the night in after saving the city, so when Felicity had offered Oliver her apartment so that he could crash for the time being while he found his place in the world, it had seemed like a good idea at the time.

Now, a week after practically moving in with her, he was not quite as sure that he had made the correct choice.

It was not as if the former QC IT girl's apartment was not comfy, welcoming or decent, and she had made everything possible to make him feel less homeless and family-less than he really was, but every time her eyes would lose focus and a frown would appear on her face, he knew what was crossing her mind. He knew because it was the same thought that had been crossing his since their talk by the beach.

_"You really sold it," Felicity acknowledged._

_ "We both did." Oliver agreed._

The idea had felt sound and rational in his mind when he had conjured it. Felicity was a fast learner and a fast thinker and for a moment he had sworn her idea of making Slade believe he had outthought the Arrow had made her come to the same conclusion he had arrived at. He thought she would quickly pick up on the act; on the plan of becoming the bait the city needed her to be in order to stop Slade, but when he saw that spark of hope in her eyes when he had said those three little words to her, he had known he had inadvertently crushed her heart.

At that moment it had felt justified and even now he still believed that it had to be done and that without it none of them would have been here and alive, but seeing her act as if nothing had occurred when he could see something inside of her had clearly died that night, as if he had not willingly used to his advantage the crush that he knew she had for him for the sake of saving Laurel and the city – without her previous consent, at that – was just too much to bear for him.

_I thought she understood the implication_, he had wondered to himself plenty of times, just like now. _I thought she knew what I had meant, in the end._

It was clear by her actions and words that she did not and he could not blame her for it because he had made it clear to her that nothing would ever happen between them. He had made it clear that he could not get involved with someone he could really care about.

_"It's unthinkable, you and me, I mean…"_

Unthinkable. Impossible. Not meant to be.

Problem was that he was beginning to regret his words. Problem was that he was starting to wonder if _they _could actually _be_ something _more_.

"Oliver?" Her voice brought him back to reality as she stood up from the couch where they had been watching television for the past hour. He could not remember what they had been watching at all and he hoped she was not about to ask him what he thought about the show because he had no clue what had been said. To his surprise and relief, her words had nothing to do with the action on screen.

"I'm calling it. I need to get up early tomorrow."

"Already?" He asked before he allowed his brain to think clearly and it was not until she tilted her head and gave him a look of disbelief that he remembered why she needed to rise and shine before the sun came up. "Nevermind," he began with a shake of the head. "What time is the interview?"

"Ten," she replied. "The commute is a pain, though. I'll probably have to move out of here and closer to the place if I do get this job."

"I don't see why you wouldn't," he said and grinned. "Your expertise speaks for itself."

Felicity shrugged, picked up the empty glasses of wine on the table and then walked over to her small kitchen. "Not as impressive as other unemployed IT people out there. Too bad I can't add my hacking felonies to the list. Unless, of course, I was applying for a job at ARGUS. Hey! Are they hiring? Because they have these super awesome computers and… ugh! I'm rambling again."

It was his turn to shrug and even though he knew that he should have provided some words of encouragement for the job interview she had tomorrow after losing her position at Queen Consolidated, all he could do at the moment was give her a smile.

"Anyway," she fidgeted for a second and then headed to her room. "Good night, Oliver."

"Good night, Felicity."

His smile disappeared as soon as she closed the door to her room and it was not until much later that Oliver Queen was able to drag himself to the apartment's guest room.

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**A/N:** Gonna be a slow update (read: slow burn) since I have other fics pending. Hope you like it so far, though.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

John Diggle had never been a man of many words and to anyone else who did not know him as much as Oliver Queen did, his current stoic face and relaxed posture would indicate that he either had no care in the world or was bored out of his mind, but the Arrow alter ego knew much better than that. The apparently-neutral eyes with which he was being scrutinized by his bodyguard and friend were nothing more than the tip of the iceberg. John Diggle was angry, disappointed and ready to break someone's neck.

Preferably the neck of one archer by the last name of Queen.

"I told you it was a bad idea, Oliver." The bodyguard deadpanned; his pose giving away very little of how irritated he actually felt. He knew that he only had a few more moments to scold the ex-billionaire before their IT girl returned home from her job interview. He was aware that it was a race against the clock to make it clear to Oliver how much he had screwed up and he was willing to use up every living second to rub the ugly situation in his face.

"And I told you I had no choice," Oliver defended himself. "It had to be believable and come as a surprise so that Felicity would go along with it the way it needed to be. If I had told her my plan beforehand she wouldn't have been so convincing. Slade wouldn't have bought into it the way he did."

Diggle narrowed his eyes for the first time since he had arrived at Felicity's apartment, which she currently shared with Oliver. He honestly doubted that Felicity would have not been as convincing as she had been had she been informed of Oliver's plan in advance. He had witnessed how she quickly adapted to a part – an act – as if her life depended on it, and he had no doubt that that night in particular would have not been an exception to this rule. She had so far played the role of a food delivery girl, an obsessed lover to Tommy Merlyn and an undercover casino expert and not once had she failed them in accomplishing the mission's greater goal.

Oliver had been trying to downplay his actions; the execution of his plan, but whatever Oliver was trying to sell, John Diggle was not buying. John was no fool – he could not be one to have survived this long in his line of work, and he knew that there was more to that plan than what Oliver was letting him know about. He knew that the blonde was not bad on the eyes and there was clearly some sort of attraction between her and Oliver, but he would be damned if he allowed Oliver to treat Felicity as he had treated every other woman he had been involved with.

In fact, this exact thought had been the main reason why John had offered refuge to the archer many times since the morning after their battle against Slade and his army, but every time Oliver had declined the invitation, claiming that until everything settled down, Felicity needed to be protected. The girl had already been in enough danger by helping them out in any way she could; by being part of a team of vigilantes, but now that Slade was still under the impression that Felicity was the woman that Oliver Queen loved, he had all but painted a bull's-eye on her forehead.

Had he not anticipated that – that Felicity Smoak would be on Slade's kill list for the rest of his life? Knowing Oliver, he probably had not thought about it yet and based on what he had seen from Felicity, the poor woman had not considered it yet either. Or maybe she actually had but also knew that Oliver had not and, as she always did, she was perhaps keeping this fact to herself to protect Oliver from having another reason to mope around.

It felt as if an eternity of silence had gone by between them, but all these thoughts had crossed Diggle's mind in less time than it took Oliver to send an arrow through someone's chest.

"True," Diggle began after a long exhale. "But you didn't even apologize to her. That's why I left you two alone. So that you would at least say you were sorry. If you aren't ready to tell her how you feel, the decent thing to do for that woman, who's done so much for you, was to apologize for playing with her feelings like that."

Oliver narrowed his eyes and squared his shoulders. The conversation was heading into a confusing and dangerous territory for him; a territory that he was certain he did not want explore just yet. It was already difficult enough for him to live with Felicity and act as if nothing major had shifted between them. He most definitely did not need John Diggle meddling in his personal life as well. "Felicity knows how I feel about her. She's my friend."

"You have a funny way of treating your friends. I can't imagine what you would do to us if we weren't on your good side. Oh, wait! I do know. You'd put arrows through our eyes."

Oliver refrained himself from rolling his eyes and voicing the snarky retort that rested at the tip of his tongue. He did, however, stare at the ceiling with an impassive face and furrowed his brow. He took in a handful of deep breaths to calm down and once he knew his mask had returned to his face, he spoke again. "Diggle, you're making a big deal out of nothing. You're making a bigger deal than Felicity did. Actually, she didn't even make it a big deal at all. She's fine with what happened and she understands why it had to be done. Why can't you just drop it?"

"Felicity is not Laurel, Oliver."

"I know."

"And she's not Sara or Helena, either. Felicity's a completely different ball game. Don't forget that."

Oliver pursed his lips in response to Diggle's declaration. He knew that he did not have to tell John that he was very aware of what he was being told. Oliver had known that Felicity was not the same type of woman he had dated in the past or the type of woman he might have dated in the future, but there was just something about Felicity that made him incapable of pushing her away even though she had a huge crush on him.

"I'll move out soon, alright?" Oliver finally said. "I'll live under a tree if that makes you happy."

"You lived on an island for five years. I think living under a tree would be an upgrade for you."

Whatever sarcastic response Oliver had prepared for Diggle died on his lips when the door to the apartment opened to reveal a wide-eyed Felicity Smoak. Both men stood up from their seats almost immediately and definitely at the same time and Felicity smiled at them as soon as she saw them. She slowly closed the door behind her and walked over to the kitchen counter where her two boys were and without further ado, she asked Diggle to take out the good wine from one of the top cabinets.

"It's two o'clock in the afternoon, Felicity," John supplied but still did as told. "Is this a good drinking or a bad drinking?"

"Both, I think," Felicity responded with a one-sided shrug. "I guess I'll decide later on once my brain is partly incapacitated by the wine."

"How did it go?" Oliver asked while he found wine glasses for the three of them. He had memorized the layout of Felicity's apartment on the third day of living with her and at this point he moved around with so much ease that anyone would have thought he had lived there for months, maybe even years. "Did you get a second interview?"

"No," Felicity said and paused while Diggle filled up her wine glass. "There was no need for a second interview. I got the job."

"You did?" Both men asked and momentarily froze on the spot.

"I did," Felicity said and then gestured for John to hand her the glass that was already filled with wine. "I start on Monday."

"That's great, Felicity!" Oliver said earnestly and had to keep himself from giving her a hug. "I told you that you're qualifications would speak for themselves!"

"That's the thing," she said with mild irritation. "They, uhm, they _did_… speak for themselves. But I don't know what language they used to communicate with the hiring committee because they didn't offer me the job I applied for."

"What?" John asked, face contorted into one of confusion. He handed Oliver a glass of wine and kept the third one for himself before he continued his questioning. "What job had you applied for? Which one did they give you?"

"I applied for senior IT manager," she said and then took a sip of her wine. "But I was offered the job of Executive Assistant to one of the new investors of the company."

Both John and Oliver were immediately taken aback.

"You mean, you're gonna be someone's assistant… again?" John asked.

"Yup. They saw that was my last job and they had been interviewing other people for that position too, but apparently the guy – the investor – my new boss, is very picky of who he lets in his office."

"He?" Oliver asked. "So, _he _was there and offered you a different job?"

"He wasn't there originally," Felicity explained. "He appeared towards the end of the interview and asked me a few questions. I guess someone must have texted him or something and he stopped by."

"Wow," Digg said. "That's some luck you got there. I take it the pay is better than the IT job?"

"Yup. Four times more, actually." She said and both men whistled in surprise. "They told me the job is stressing and demanding and that my new boss likes for their employees to be available around the clock. Apparently he's gone through five different assistants in the last year and they were happy to see someone who had put up with someone like Oliver Queen," she smirked at him, "was available to consider the Executive Assistant position."

"This guy sounds like a real piece of work," Oliver said, hoping that his small feelings of jealousy did not surface in his tone of voice or posture. "Are you sure you want this job? You were really excited for the IT position."

"I do and I don't. The pay is obviously really good and I'll be doing a lot of IT stuff for him too, but if I had been given the chance to continue with the IT position, I would've declined the EA position."

"You mean they declined to consider you for the EA position?"

"Pretty much. On the spot. Kinda left me with no option but to be this guy's babysitter if I wanted a job right now."

Diggle and Oliver stared at each other for a brief instant before they returned their attention to Felicity who was pouring another round of wine in her glass.

"Well, a job is a job, I guess," Oliver said, not entirely convinced that he was actually happy about Felicity accepting a position that she had so adamantly reproached him about giving her in the past. "Congratulations, Felicity."

"Congratulations, Ms. Smoak," John added with a smile.

"Thanks, you two," she said and then smirked. "I guess it's more of a good drinking than a bad one, huh?"

"Nearly half a million dollars for salary?" Digg began. "I think that's an AWESOME kind of drinking!"

Felicity chuckled lightly and shook her head. She then pulled out her tablet from her purse and rested it on the counter while her right hand still held her glass of wine.

"So," Oliver began, not able to contain his curiosity anymore. "What's this guy's name?"

"My new boss?" Felicity asked, her eyes glued to her tablet while she ran a background check on said man.

"Yeah, what's his name?" John asked as well.

"Grayson," Felicity said after sipping her wine again. "Dick Grayson."

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**A/N:** HOLY WOWZERS! The response I got for this fic (follows/favorties/reviews, etc) has been amazing! I hope this story is going a route you can enjoy and I REALLY hope that you'll let me know what you think of it so far. Reviews are very much appreciated and keep the creative juices flowing. Thanks for reading, my Faithful Readers! See you soon!


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: **OMG! I'm so sorry!

I want to extend my most sincere apologies to EVERYONE who reviewed this story. I typically respond to reviews via PM (or here if they're guest reviews) but I just haven't had the chance to do that. I will, however, start doing that from this chapter on, but please rest assure that your support in the form of reading, reviewing and favoring is extremely appreciated, ESPECIALLY in this difficult time of my life.

I do want, however, and HAVE to respond to one particular review just in case other readers have the same ideas as this reader:

**Guest Review Response**

_**Aaron Leach: *Sigh* Well the prologue was good, and then you had to go and shit on it. Another story with Dick Grayson. And once again, characterised wrong, never, not once was he a CEO, but I digress. Good luck with your story, I however will say goodbye here. When you decide to write something a little more original with some actual purpose (other than, let's bring in a routinely famous DC comic book character to flirt/date/fuck felicity and make Oliver jealous) I will be the first person to read it. Thanks for putting in the effort to write and add to this fandom, but this just isn't for me. Aaron.**_

Dear Aaron: I appreciate your review and your honesty but I have to inform you that you couldn't be more wrong in your assumptions. I understand that you're tired of DG appearing in every other story (which if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be aware of) but I don't believe that it entitles you or anyone to state that I have "shit" on my story (or to use such demeaning language for anyone else's story, for that matter). It is my story after all, and I'm glad that you have decided to leave it because this is definitely not for you, as you have put it. I see where you're coming from, but you don't know me and you have no idea how I work. I may be new to this fandom, but I've been on FFNET for ten years. How many fics have you written? How many of your ideas are original and out for the world to enjoy?

I surely hope that this attitude of yours is not one you use against other writers whose stories you dislike because it speaks poorly of you. Fanfiction attempts to be creative and unique and sometimes odd, but it is every writer's right to "shit" on their story if they want to. Just like I say in all my stories: if you don't like it, don't read it (thanks for taking that route). However, it is not necessary for you to flame a story or for you to announce your exit from it, either. If the feedback is constructive but negative, using the PM system is the best choice.

That being said, and trying very hard not to spoil everyone else, your assumptions after just two chapters could NOT be more wrong. Any of my Faithful Readers who know me can attest that my stories are everything but predictable and nothing is certain until the last word is typed. And, by the way, being an Arrow fan yourself, you shouldn't be concerned about wrong characterizations because: 1) this is fanfic: creative license galore; and 2) the show Arrow has mixed and matched so many characters and gave them different backstories that it is expected that someone who follows the show is aware of the creative license the writers have taken so far.

Anyway, thank you for bringing this to my attention and it was nice knowing you. See you again when this story gets so many reviews you just have to come back to see what the hype is all about ;)

On to the story!

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**Chapter 2**

_The trail of blood slid down her pale, smooth skin, leaving in its wake the only sign that she had been alive once. The cut Slade had made on her neck to end her life was flawless – practically perfect, and it had accomplished its goal of draining her body of the essential red liquid we all needed to survive. Her lithe form fell to the ground with a loud thud when his hands released her and her empty, unblinking eyes staring into nothingness reminded him of his mother's in her last seconds of life. Slade Wilson had taken the life of his mother and he had now taken the life of the woman he loved._

Oliver Queen jerked awake and swallowed hard while his eyes adjusted to the early morning light and his breathing returned to normal. The recurring nightmare had robbed him of a decent amount of sleep for the past three days; especially after his _Girl Wednesday_ had decided to take on a job she was not thrilled about having. He was not sure why she had gone ahead and accepted the offer, but upon further reflection it had dawned on him that perhaps she had done so because he could not find himself a job to support them both. He was living on Felicity's dime and was dependent on her generosity and aid, and for that, he felt shame.

_Utter_ shame.

He had pulled her into this mess more than a year ago when he had broken into her car after being shot by his own mother and she was now suffering the consequences of their secret lives, and it appeared to him as if the blonde would have to resign herself to always be labeled _EA material_ for any other men or potential employer to come. Her prolific background in IT was being overlooked simply for the purpose of being used as someone's glorified secretary – just as he had set her on the path to be. He had not meant it to be like this for her. He had not meant it to be taken to this extent; he had not meant to ruin her years of hard work and her efforts to establish a successful career, but he had also not planned many of the things that had ended up happening to all of them. Life had just… _sucked_.

_Why Dick Grayson?_ The archer asked himself as he pulled the blankets off his body and stood up from bed. _From all the billionaires in the country, why him?_

Oliver Queen was not friends with this particular magnate but he was aware of his and his adoptive father's trends. Dick Grayson, the adopted son of Bruce Wayne and the heir to Wayne Enterprises, was everything but a man of business. He was known for not caring about running companies or how his father's wealth was spent. He cared more about the vacations and long tours he tended to engage in – vacations that took him out of the spotlight for months on end. What was someone like him doing in Starling City? What business could he possibly have in such a forsaken and broken city?

Maybe the filthy rich man had gotten lost on his recent travels. Maybe he had misread a map. He was nowhere near Gotham and perhaps someone was needed to show him the merry way back to his town: as far away from Felicity Smoak as possible.

Oliver sighed despondently and made his way into the hall and then the living room, hoping to use the bathroom before Felicity had to get ready for her first day at work. To his disappointment, however, he found her running around the apartment like a headless chicken, going in and out of her room and back and forth in the kitchen and for a moment he felt guilty that he had not gotten up earlier to at least fix her something to eat before she left.

"Oliver!" She said without stopping her seemingly pointless pacing. "Did I wake you? I'm sorry! I've been up since four, I couldn't sleep. I'm so nervous. Did you sleep well? Of course you did, and I… uhm… _oh_… oh, boy…"

He frowned when he saw her gulp nervously and she lifted her arms in his direction to cover his form with her palms. Her gaze was diverted to the ceiling and she swallowed hard once more before she found her voice again. "Oliver, you, uhm… you forgot pants…"

The words did not register right away with him but once they did, he was as red in the face as she was. In his haste to reach the bathroom and while still shocked by his dream, he had forgotten that he had stripped down to his boxers the night before. It took him another full second before he apologized to her and in the blink of an eye he left the living room and returned to his room.

_Great_, Felicity thought when she realized he was gone for now. _That's how I wanted to start my first day at work: with an image of Oliver in his underpants._

She fanned herself with her hands and took deep breaths while she listened to the faint sounds of Oliver walking in his room, perhaps looking for his pajama pants. When she finally regained some control over her body and her very imaginative mind, she finished putting away her belongings into her handbag just as Oliver returned to the living room, pants and t-shirt on.

"Are you gonna be OK alone?" She asked him as a way to avoid the awkward aftermath of their morning encounter and she could tell by his face that he appreciated the thought. He saw her stare around the living room and the kitchen and before he could ask what she was searching for, he heard her exclaim her happiness at seeing her red heels sitting by the door. "I don't know when I'll be back," she continued her casual conversation while she returned to the living room, shoes in hand, and sat on the couch.

"Are you already working late?" He inquired and took a seat next to her to watch her slide her shoes onto her tiny feet. "Are you coming home for lunch?"

Felicity swallowed hard for the third time in less than two minutes at the way he associated himself with her home. It was not just that he felt comfortable enough to call it as such, but the implication that it was _their_ home, the place_ they_ shared, that made her heart skip a beat. As quick as the hope had risen in her chest, though, she pushed it back down when she remembered that this man wanted nothing to do with her other than to be her good friend. Of that she had no doubt.

"I'm not sure," she admitted of his inquiry while she put on the other shoe. "I'm not sure what to expect of this guy, but even if he gave me the time to have lunch, the commute is too much of a hassle to come eat all the way over here."

"Well," he began; his eyes following her every move as she stood up from the couch and headed for her handbag. "If you give me the address, I can drop something off for you around noon."

She nearly dropped her bag at his suggestion but he merely shrugged as if it was not a big deal. While it was true that he had nothing else to do until he found himself a job, she had never expected him to do anything for her or for the apartment. In fact, she had half expected him to have met with Laurel by now and perhaps even moved in with her, but the closest he had gotten to her was visiting Detective Lance at the hospital while he recovered from a Mirakuru-enhanced beating.

"I, ahem, that's OK," she forced the words out. "I think I'll be pretty busy with getting the hang of stuff but if you still feel generous enough later on, I may take you up on the offer once I have a routine in place."

He eyed her intently for a moment as if waiting for her to take her words back and when she did not and continued getting ready, he finally nodded and accepted defeat. Truth was that some part of him wanted to go to the new company, sniff out any trouble, and make sure that this Dick Grayson guy did not have the wrong impression of her. Isabel Rochev had once expressed her perception of how some random girl had become Oliver Queen's EA, seemingly overnight, and he had no doubt that other people who were not privy to their nightly activities also considered the possibility that the IT specialist had _slept her way up_.

For that, too, he felt shame and disgrace.

"How do I look?" Her voice once more pulled him from his sulking and he could not hold back the boyish grin that framed his face. She was wearing a simple, knee-length black dress, red shoes and a large red handbag. Her hair was straight and loose and her trademark glasses combined with her business attire made her look like one of those models he had seen on the covers of the magazines she read. She looked both smart and naïve, strong and delicate, plain and beautiful, and he almost asked her to go back into her room and change into sweats and a t-shirt.

"Ready to tell Dick Grayson what to do." He finally answered and she snorted in a very unladylike way, but she did not care.

"Right. Like I have any experience in making my boss do what I want him to do."

"More than you actually think," he blurted out before he could stop himself and another brief awkward silence followed his statement. He faced the door and the wall clock above the entrance to clear his thoughts and then finally returned his attention to her. "Good luck on your first day, Felicity."

"Thank you," she said with a bright smile and began walking over to the door. "If anything comes up or you need something, call me, alright?"

"I know," he told her. "But I think I'll be OK. I… I'm actually gonna go look for a job."

Her hand, which had been reaching for the doorknob, stopped midway to its destination. Her head then whipped back to face him once more and after shaking her head lightly to make sure she had heard him correctly, she finally spoke. "You're what?"

"Job," he reiterated. "I'm going to look for a job."

"Do you even have a resume ready?"

"A what? I-I need one?"

"Oh, brother," she rolled her eyes. "Oliver, just hold off on that. I'll help you draft one when I get home."

"No," he said, wanting nothing more than to do something for himself without having to drag her with him and use up her free time. "I can do this. How hard can it be? I've got some marketable talents, right?"

She arched a single brow. "You can't put anything about being the Arrow," she said. "So that leaves you with a failed nightclub business, a bankrupt company and a D in tenth grade math."

"Are you still on that? It was _one_ class, _one_ time."

"_Twice_!" She said. "You took the class _twice_!"

"So, what? I'll figure it out, you'll see. Just go to work and when you come back, I'll show you what Oliver Queen can do."

"Please don't arrow the heck out of the apartment. I already know you can do that."

"Ha-HA, very funny, Felicity."

"Well," she began as she opened the door, "_lacks sense of humor_ is something you may want to leave out of your resume!" She yelled at him in a mocking tone and before he could respond, she shut the door behind her, leaving Oliver both annoyed and amused at her quick wit.

Hopefully, he silently pleaded, Dick Grayson would not find her as attractive and endearing as he knew she was.

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**A/N:** Again, sooo sorry about the long delay but after you lose your job and your home and have to move in with relatives so late in life, your priorities shift. I finished the other story I had pending and even though it still needs a sequel, I'm going to devote time to this story now. Can't wait to hear what you think! A link to the dress Felicity was wearing can be found on my profile. Don't forget to review ^_^


	4. Chapter 3

**Guest Review Responses**

**Siobhan: Still into this and enjoying this. ignore the aarons of the world, they are out for drama and attension. Continue with your story as I like it so far & want to see where you take this**. – LOL! Thank you for your support :D It took me a while to try to understand what the point of his review was, but the more I thought about it, the less sense it made to me. I think you're more than correct in the purpose of it, and as long as people like where the story is going, nothing else should matter. OLICITY FOREVER!

**tori: I loved how Oliver is realizing that he has been using Felicity n taking her for granted. ... please update soon. ...** – YES! Which is why the ending irritated me to no end. I've read some spoilers for the next season and I think it's safe to assume that Oliver is gonna be given the jealousy treatment in a much worse way than I can ever write here XD

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**Chapter 3**

The single line on the otherwise blank page had been practically mocking him all day. He had been determined to prove Felicity wrong, to prove to her and to himself that he was more than just an ex-billionaire with a secret vigilante life, but so far he had been unsuccessful in proving anything to anyone other than that he truly had no marketable skills. He had not even done much vigilantism in the past few days, at that, as he was concerned about not having the funds to order more custom arrows once he ran out. He needed to find a job, or win the lottery, _now_.

"So," John Diggle began, trying his best to hide a smirk. "Did you ever do anything other than being the CEO of your family's company?"

"No," Oliver replied. "I never had a job other than partying and dropping out of college. I barely finished high school, actually."

"Well, then maybe you should do some internships or volunteer work to beef up this baby," Diggle pointed to the blank page that was supposed to be Oliver's resume. "Otherwise, all you're going to find is minimum wage employment with companies that won't be happy that you don't have a car."

Oliver sighed and rubbed his face with his hands. He had not even considered the issue of needing reliable transportation in this job search equation. He could definitely take the bus if need be but that alone was going to narrow down even more of his options for securing a job. Felicity had been partially joking when she had told him about not having much to offer to the normal corporate world, but it was not until now that he realized how much truth there had been in her words.

"What about you?" Oliver asked after a long pause. "How's your job search going?"

Digg shrugged. "I've gone on a couple of interviews but I'm still waiting on the responses. The slow response is the norm now, it seems."

"Not for Felicity. It's nearly six and she won't be home for another two hours."

"Two hours?" Digg's eyebrows shot up. "Did she start late?"

"No, she left very early, actually. She called me at around noon to tell me her new boss needed her until late at night and to have dinner without her," he pointed to the takeout boxes being kept warm inside the oven for when the blonde returned. "Apparently there's some acquisition going on and he needed her there until it was done."

"That's odd. What does Felicity even know about acquisitions?"

Oliver shrugged, trying not to think too much of it. "Maybe she's doing research for him."

"Well, she did say there would be some IT work involved. That could be it."

"Perhaps," Oliver said more to himself than to his friend. They remained silent for a long while as they stared at the blank paper and after a long exhale, John asked the question that had been burning a hole in his mind since last Friday.

"Do you know him?"

"Who?" Oliver asked, too quickly to pretend he did not know who Diggle was referring to and when all he received was a face of annoyance from his former driver, Oliver cleared his throat.

"Not personally, no."

"But you've heard about him."

"Of course. Who hasn't?"

"Felicity, based on how she spoke about him."

"Yeah, well, I'm sure that by now she knows everything about him. You know how she is about background-checking people."

"Do you think she's safe in that job? It seems kinda shady to me how she got the position."

Oliver shrugged again. "I don't see why not. It's not like the guy's a vigilante in disguise. He's a rich man with too much time on his hands and all he may try to do is sleep with her. We both know Felicity doesn't fall for that."

"Very true. She'd put him in his place if he tried."

"And I might lose an arrow around him, too."

"Unless she actually falls for the guy. Then you've got nothing to say."

Oliver scoffed. "As if. I may not know him in person, but if he's anything like the media paints him, he's not Felicity's type."

"And if he's not like that? What if he's like you?"

The archer bit his bottom lip and swallowed hard. "We're not having this conversation again."

"Clearly," Digg retorted. "It'll take a miracle for you to realize what you did to her."

"Stop." Oliver raised his voice. "Felicity is alright with it. She's… she's over it. I'm over it. It's time you got over it, too."

"Sure," Digg replied and stood up from the couch. "Keep telling yourself that but don't write it down. _Stubborn _doesn't look very promising on a resume."

"You sound just like her."

"Honest?"

"Mocking."

"With you, it's hard not to." Diggle responded, put on his coat and walked to the door. "Anyway, I gotta go. Good luck with your blank piece of paper. Save trees!"

Oliver's only response after the door was slammed shut was to crush the paper and throw it in the trash.

xxxXXXxxx

She opened the door to her apartment and was not at all shocked to find Oliver asleep on the couch with the television on showing the late night news. She was aware that he desperately wanted to resume his nightly rounds in the city, but without the Foundry and his secondary lair not having the same technology that the team had grown accustomed to having, fighting crime was more of a hassle than a service to the people right now. Perhaps once she received her first hefty paycheck she could start sprucing up the secondary lair to resemble a more decent Arrow _cave_ so that the vigilante could return to protecting the streets of Starling City. For now, they would just have to wait.

She left her shoes by the door and could not hold back a yawn as she headed to the kitchen to find the oven's light on, denoting that dinner was ready for her. She had promised Oliver that she would return around eight, but it was now nearly midnight and it was obvious to her that he had been waiting for her. She only had a few hours left to wash up and sleep as she had to report to her new place of employment at seven in the morning, sharp.

_My new place_, she thought bitterly as she recalled today's conversation with her boss and she bit her bottom lip. _My new job and then, soon, my new home._

As quietly as possible, she began heating up the Thai food Oliver had gotten her and before she knew it, she was in her room eating straight out of the box while she searched her closet to prepare tomorrow's work clothes. She had a feeling that this job was going to be more demanding than what it had been to be Oliver Queen's EA and the Arrow's reconnaissance support, combined.

If today's schedule was an indication of how busy she was going to be under Dick Grayson's wing, she doubted that she would ever be able to help Arrow as much as she did in the past. Other than setting up his new lair for him, there was not going to be much time to do for him what she had done before. The original team of three was going to be severely crippled and even though they had done well in the past without her, she knew that her assistance was now invaluable to the cause.

_Maybe I should train Digg or Roy. Maybe we should start looking for a replacement._

She sat on the edge of her bed, box of food in her lap, and she lost herself to the events of the day. Dick Grayson was so different from all the other top executives she had ever met and worked with, and she had been extremely surprised that he had not tried flirting with her at all. He had in fact informed her that her position had been earned by her experience and not her face; a thought that had crossed her mind but she had not wanted to voice.

She did not consider herself a supermodel or a badass superheroine but she knew that she was not bad to stare at. So when Dick had told her that he had chosen her for her skills and expertise and not the rumors about how she may have gotten her previous position, she had been stunned silent. Not as stunned silent, however, as she had been when she had heard the next words that had come out of her new boss's mouth.

_"I need someone who can find her away around a difficult situation, even if I'm not around," Richard said, his fingers rapped on his desk and his blue eyes fixed on hers as she sat in front of him while she took notes on her tablet. "And I also need someone who knows the inner workings of Queen Consolidated like the back of her hand."_

_ "Why is that?" Felicity asked and pushed her glasses back into place as she waited and feared his response._

_ "Because, Felicity, we're acquiring it today," he immediately replied. "I need you to stay late to help me get ready. As of tomorrow, Wayne Enterprises is acquiring QC and all its assets and I'm going to be its new CEO."_

She had not had the heart to tell Oliver the news over the phone when she called him at noon, but she knew that she would have to inform him of it before she left for work tomorrow. There were so many things that she had to share with him, one of which included the premise of moving out of her apartment very soon at her employer's request. There was no doubt that she would ask him to move with her to her new place, but she was not sure how the archer would respond to the change and the offer after so many shocking confessions made themselves to his ears. So many things had already gone bad in his life; she was not sure how he would be able to cope with more changes coming his way, most especially now that he had no place to live and practically no family left.

John Diggle was already aware of the situation when she had been instructed to call him a few hours ago to offer him his driver and bodyguard job back. This time, however, he would answer to Dick Grayson and not Oliver Queen, and even though he had accepted the position and the higher pay, she knew that he felt as guilty as she currently felt. They had not asked for any of this to happen but it had, and a sense of betrayal had dawned on her earlier today; a sense that refused to leave her even after John had assured her it was going to be alright.

Would Oliver be mad at her, at them, for taking their old jobs back? Would he feel stabbed in the back by his only friends? Would he run to Laurel's willing arms and spill to her how they had taken advantage of him?

Felicity briefly closed her eyes as she considered all of these and more questions in her mind. She could spend the rest of the night thinking about his responses, but with Oliver she truly never knew what to expect. All she could do for now was go to bed and pray that when she came home from work tomorrow, that Oliver Queen would be waiting for her arrival again.

Only time would tell.

* * *

**A/N:** These chappies are gonna be short and sweet until the end of the story. A lot of plotlines will be opened in them and most of them won't make much sense until the sequel is up. The sequel will have much longer chapters and may take a while to be written, but I guarantee it will be worth the wait. Again, reviews are highly appreciated and encouraged, and I thank you for your time :) See you soon!


	5. Chapter 4

**Guest Review Responses**

**Amber: Interesting twist.** – And many more to come

**Guest: poor oliver, its going to be hard** – He's got some lessons to learn, our poor Oliver :(

**chocolategirl2014:** **Love the way your story is going. Keep the updates! :**D – Thank you :D

**Britany: Yeah, so not liking this. I tried though! This is just a bit to angst-y for my liking.** – Aww! :( So sad to see you go, but I understand. My warning at the beginning of the story was for realz. I haven't even gotten to the angsty part!

**tori:Wow... it's crazy imagining Oliver not getting his company back having to rely on Felicity or Diggle to support him financially. ... please update soon. ...** – Makes you wonder how he's gonna get his company back in the next season, huh? ;)

* * *

**Chapter 4**

The last time she had felt this anxious had been the time she had kept from Oliver the truth about his mother's secret regarding Thea. She had been shaking as much then as she was now, to the point that she had so far spilled her coffee over the kitchen counter more times than she could count. It was nothing short of a miracle that she had not stained her work clothes already, and she owed it mostly to the fact that she kept putting her mug of coffee as far away from her as possible.

She set the cup in the middle of the kitchen counter and even though her palms lay against the cold granite, they felt as clammy and shaky as she would imagine the hands of a junkie experiencing withdrawal would get. She had spent half of the night worrying about how to tell Oliver the news and the other half having nightmares about how he could react to the fact that one of his only friends in the world was going to shatter the hope of getting back his company.

It was not as if it was _her_ fault that Richard Grayson had decided to buy Queen Consolidated and save it from eternal damnation when no one else would touch it with a ten-foot pole, and it definitely was not _her_ fault that the interview she had gone off to had landed her a position she had begrudgingly accepted once before at said company. It was her fault, though, that she had kept the shocking information from him instead of telling him right away as soon as she had found out about it.

She had told Diggle, had she not? Hell! She had even gotten him his job back! With a raise! She had made her discomfort very blatantly known to her new boss regarding the situation she had been placed in, and even though he had explained to her that he typically did not justify himself to his subordinates, he had pointed out how it was a great business move for everyone involved. She understood _where_ he was coming from and she could see the potential in the falling company, and given the fact that he was not letting go of any of the thousands of employees who could have lost their jobs overnight, it also made him seem like a caring CEO, but none of these details acquitted her from having to be the one to break Oliver's stride and from not sharing the news with him.

Why had she not immediately told Oliver about it? What had kept her from being honest with him and not letting him continue believing he could have reclaimed what was rightfully his? Perhaps it was the fact that he had already lost so much and she hated being the bearer of bad news. Or maybe it was the fear that had engulfed her since last night at realizing that if nothing else anchored him to Starling City, he would simply go, disappear into the night, never to be seen or heard from again.

Yes, it was definitely the last part. It was without a doubt the reason why she had not woken him up to tell him what was wrong in his world this time around.

She eyed her watch and sighed. She had an hour to spare before she absolutely had to leave for work. Coffee was ready and she had already angrily shoved a muffin down her throat but her stomach refused to settle. She had hoped that giving it something to digest would have kept it busy enough to stop its nauseating feeling from crawling its way up her esophagus, but the more the clock ticked, the worse the sensation got.

And it reached its peak level when she saw Oliver exit his room.

Their eyes locked for an instant and when he gave her his barely noticeable smile and bid her a good morning, she chocked back a guilty sob.

"You, uhm," she cleared her throat. "You didn't forget the pants today."

As soon as the words left her, she wanted to take them back. She hit her forehead with her palm multiple times and she mumbled a string of self-deprecating words before she shook her head and looked up to stare at him again. "I'm sorry, I… that's not what I meant to say. I mean… I did, but not the way it came out…"

Oliver's smile widened and a light chuckle escaped his lips. He then shrugged to dismiss her worry, joined her in the kitchen and poured himself a cup of coffee. He liked it black and without any sugar, so as soon as the mug was filled to the brim he cleared his throat and sat next to her on one of the kitchen bar stools. They remained quiet while they took small sips of the liquid and after about five minutes of silence, he almost undid her with his whispered words.

"What is it, Felicity?"

"Wah?" Her inability to form coherent words truly gave her out.

He arched a single brow and stared at her shaking hands. He then grabbed her right hand and gave it a light squeeze before letting go of her and speaking again. "Something's up. What is it? You know you can tell me."

She nodded, inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly. With trembling hands she readjusted her glasses and then cleared her throat a few times. She then stole a quick glance at his calm demeanor and nodded one more time.

"Look, Oliver, I-I-I have to tell you something… a few things, in fact. And, and I don't know how to start. And I'd rather not tell you anything… I was even thinking I could send you a text or an e-mail, because, you know, it would be easier, but-but it's not fair and… well, nothing's fair, come to think of it. Especially not when you want to be taller but you just don't have the genes for it and…"

"Felicity?"

"Yeah?"

"You only have forty-five minutes before you go to work. How about you spell it out?"

"Right," she said between clenched teeth. "Alright. Alright."

She took another sip of her coffee before completely abandoning it and then moved slightly on the bar stool so that she partially faced him. Oliver mirrored her move and waited patiently for the words to come out.

"Oliver, do you, ahem, do you remember the acquisition I told you Mr. Grayson was –"

"_Mr._ Grayson?" Oliver interrupted her with a sly smirk on his face both trying to ease her tension and trying to put his own doubts at rest. She had called him _Mr. Queen_ during their first encounter, but he had straightaway nipped that uncomfortable title usage in the bud. As far as he knew, Richard Grayson was probably around his age and hearing Felicity refer to her new, young boss as Mr. _anything_ was not something he was ready to deal with.

"Dick… "

"Dick?"

"Richard… "

"Richard?"

"Him… Whatever! Can we focus, please?"

"Sorry," the archer said and gestured with his hand for her to continue.

"OK. Alright," she immediately said, with more determination now. "The acquisition I helped him with last night wasn't just _any_ acquisition. It was the buying of… of…" she clenched her eyes shut. "Of QC. He… he bought your company, Oliver. He bought everything that belonged to your family; your home, the nightclub…the… the secondary lair… He just took it all!"

He rested his right elbow on the counter but did not speak, and when Felicity opened her eyes to stare at him she realized that the walls were quickly building around him. She had to let out everything she needed to tell him and she needed to do it now. She was not going to stop her words; not even to breathe.

"Today I'm reporting to work at QC and Diggle got his job back. Everyone's getting their job back and Dick Grayson is moving in from his place in Gotham to your mansion. He-he, uhm, he… he's taking over the Verdant and opening it again, and… and he wants me to move, too. He wants me to move closer to QC, like, blocks away so that I can be available whenever he needs me. And I hope you come with me to my new place – _the_ new place… _our _new place. I have to move this upcoming weekend and I need to pack… and… and… and I'm sorry, Oliver. I'm so, so sorry!"

By the time she finished her spiel, her voice was breaking and her eyes were filled with tears. She closed her eyes and bit down on her tongue and before she could connect the dots in her scattered brain to offer the words of support she knew that Oliver would need – but not necessarily accept – she felt her tremors come to a stop when his hands gripped her upper arms.

Her first instinct was to flinch with the unexpected contact as she thought he was readying himself to shake her senseless, demanding an explanation that she was not sure she could provide to him. She was merely reciting what Dick Grayson had informed her was going to happen and even if she did have knowledge of the reasoning her boss had shared with her for his actions, she was certain that no amount of logic would make sense to Oliver right now.

Her eyes snapped open but all she could see was the gray fabric of his t-shirt as it slowly drifted toward her chest. The arms that had tentatively grabbed a hold of her were now pulling her forward and her chin was being guided to rest on his left shoulder. She felt like a puppet, sustained only by his will and before she knew it she was being embraced by Oliver Queen, standing in between two bar stools in her modest kitchen in her apartment home.

Her arms snaked around his waist out of instinct and she unconsciously closed her eyes once more when she felt completely encompassed by him. His left hand rested on her lower back, practically surrounding her entire waist with it, and his right hand lightly stroked her free-flowing blonde hair. The moment reminded him so much of how she had felt against him when she had given him that last ounce of hope he had needed to face off against Slade.

"_What's happening now is not your fault," Felicity said._

"_Yes, it is," he began. "I have failed this city." He added, despite her shaking head. "Yao Fei. Shado. Tommy. My father, my mother. All that I've ever wanted to do was to honor those people."_

"_You honor the dead by fighting," Felicity said, hand on her throbbing temple. "And you're NOT done fighting! Malcom Merlyn. The Count. The Clock King. The Triad – everyone who is trying to hurt this city, you've stopped them! And you will stop Slade."_

"_You are not alone,"_ she had shortly thereafter added before she had hugged him. _"And I believe in you."_

Was she even aware of how powerful those words had been to him? How much meaning that simple statement had had on him when everyone else had given up on him, on his crusade, on his ability to protect the ones he loved? With Diggle and Felicity near him he was never truly going to be alone unless he ran away again – and perhaps not even then if they followed him like they had done so last time he had disappeared.

Leaving Felicity to the likes of someone who had just taken his family's legacy away from him was not an option. He was not certain what Dick Grayson's intentions truly were, but he would sooner die than leaving his friends – his only semblance of a family he had left, to fend off the new possessor of everything he had once owned.

"It's alright, Felicity," he finally whispered to her ear, his lips lightly brushing against the skin there. "What's happening now is not your fault."

Felicity was not oblivious to the fact that her own words were being recited back at her but it did not make it easier on her to believe he was seeing no fault in her actions. She should have told him sooner. She should have done so even if it had been over the phone. This was his life that was being crumbled to the ground. If it had been hers, she would have wanted to know.

"There's nothing to be sorry for," he said to her as if sensing her fears were yet to be dissipated. "I'm not done fighting, Felicity. I will get it all back."

"How, Oliver?" She asked in a low tone. "I was there. It's done. It's legal and official. He's taken it all."

"Not all. Not everything," he said and pulled away from her just enough to see her face. "Not yet."

Felicity wanted to ask what he meant; ask him what trick he had up his sleeve or inside his arrow quiver, but when his eyes never left hers and he stroked her cheek with his right hand, she knew exactly what his words had actually meant. Dick Grayson was yet to take her from him, and she was sure as hell that the man would never be able to make her want to leave Oliver Queen.

* * *

**A/N:** Wow! I'm such a mean bitch to Oliver, but hey! He had it coming! This story will have a happy ending, though, I can guarantee you that. In fact, I already wrote the last chapter in my head. I think you're all going to love it. Meanwhile, please continue to stick with the story despite the angst. Thank you for your time and support and don't forget to review! The show of interest keeps my muse alive!


	6. Chapter 5

**Guest Review Responses**

**ladyevenstar22: If u say so then I believe you! Somedays people aren't in the mood for angst but when that happens I just wait until there's another update thus doubling chances I'll like at least one chapter completely I'm glad you had oliver understand her that was a sweet moment/hug between them** – You, my friend, have just shared with all of us the key to surviving angst! And I'm glad you so did because there will be plenty of it in this story :D And yes, between all that angst and drama, there will be some more of that sweet romance between Oliver and Felicity because: isn't that what makes these types of stories worth the tears? ;P

**presh: great story, can't wait for more** – Here it be! Thanks for reviewing :D

**tori: Awe poor Oliver. ... but love the Olicity scene. ... I hope you update soon. ... **– There are more of those sweet scenes to come. I hope you like those, too! :)

**Bridget: Finally! Felicity is not falling in love with another man from the top of her head to her toes. Fantastic! I feel sorry for Oliver so please don't be so hard with him... now he need a little happiness. Keep up the great work, I am totally a fan of the story! :) **– I agree with you: our girl can do better than that ;) It's gonna cost Oliver, though, but we all know Felicity is worth it :)

* * *

**Chapter 5**

John Diggle opened the limousine door for his new boss and Dick Grayson immediately jumped inside the vehicle, closely followed by his new assistant, Felicity Smoak. The trio had just been called to a meeting with board members across town, and despite the fact that it was still early in the morning and her shift had just started an hour ago, Felicity already felt tired enough to go home. Working for Oliver during the day and then the Arrow during the night had never felt this physically and mentally exhausting, and she was starting to question the fairness of her monetary compensation for this job.

_The Christmas bonus better be a good one_, she thought with both bitterness and hope as she heard John close and lock the door behind her. The driver/bodyguard then jogged to the front of the car, got inside of it and literally sped them out of the Queen Consolidated private parking lot. The drive was going to take at least an hour due to the morning traffic and the location of their destination, which gave the former IT girl plenty of time to catch up her boss on the activities of the day.

She adjusted her glasses with her left hand while with her right hand she grabbed her electronic tablet from her bag. It took her a few seconds to pull up all the information she needed for her employer, and once she cleared her throat and looked up, she was glad to see that Dick Grayson was already staring directly at her eyes.

"Go," he told her with a nod and without missing a beat, and she could tell by his posture that he was giving her his undivided attention – something she wished that Oliver could have done from time to time when she worked for him. Dick Grayson and Oliver Queen had seemed so similar to each other when she had first met the former man, but the more time she had spent with the Gotham billionaire, the more significant differences she had found between them.

"The board meeting is about the projected numbers for this quarter," Felicity began. "I've summarized the reports and the estimates and I've e-mailed them to you to use as a cheat sheet during the meeting."

"Got it," Dick replied as he took out his phone and skimmed through the file. "What else?"

"You still have a two o'clock and a four o'clock appointment – I cancelled and reassigned all the rest since we probably won't be back on time to make them. The first one is with your attorney to discuss some minor issues with the acquisition, and the second meeting is with Mr. Prado from Human Resources."

"Reschedule Mr. Prado for tomorrow, same time," Grayson replied. "I want us to leave at four today to visit your new apartment to make sure everything is squared out for you to move in this weekend. Have you started packing?"

"Me, personally, not yet," she admitted. "But, I have a friend doing that for me right now. We'll be ready by Friday."

"We?" Richard tilted his head.

"Yes," Felicity coughed and again adjusted her slipping glasses. "We. My friend is also my roommate… is it alright for two people to live at the new place?"

"As long as one of them is you and you're ready to show up for work at the drop of a hat, I don't see why not."

"Yes. Gotcha. Thanks." Felicity replied and took a moment to regain her wits before she continued speaking to Dick. "Anyway, you got a few calls when you were in that meeting with Mrs. Dvorak this morning," Felicity said and pulled up her notes regarding messages she had taken for him. "Your real estate representative is going to overnight us the final copies of the transfer of ownership for the mansion for you to sign and return ASAP. Uhm, a person by the name of… Alfred said your packages will be delivered to the mansion over the weekend and… a woman by the name of Kori called and asked for you but she wouldn't tell me what it was about."

"Kori called?" Dick was taken aback by hearing the news. His voice became high-pitched for a second until he loudly cleared his throat.

"Yes," Felicity looked up from her tablet, curious about his reaction. "Was I supposed to transfer her call?"

"Yes," he replied with a sad smirk and pushed his back against the seat in obvious disappointment.

"Sorry, you… you didn't mention it or her calling you... Is she… your, like, uhm… you know, nevermind. Do you want me to call her back or schedule a call back for you?"

"No, she… she doesn't get phone calls where she is right now… she calls whenever she can."

"Oh," the blonde raised one eyebrow. "Her long distance calling plan sucks?"

"You can say that," Richard responded in a tone that Felicity could not immediately decipher the emotion that had been meant by it, but she would assume later on that it had been disillusionment. "If she calls again, please patch her through."

"I will. Sorry about that."

"Don't worry about it. Anything else?"

Felicity shook her head. "Nothing more for today."

"Good," he said with a quick nod. "Where are we eating today?"

"Your choice," Felicity said. "I can have food ordered in or we can go out to some restaurant near the satellite LexCorp office we are meeting in. What do you prefer?"

"Eat out," he said. "I don't want to be in there more than I should. Board of Directors meetings bore me to death."

"I guess it must be a rich boy thing," Felicity said under her breath before she realized what had come out of her mouth. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean… well, I _did_ mean it but… but you weren't supposed to _hear_ it."

Dick chuckled and lightly shook his head at her. "Oliver Queen used to hate board meetings, too?"

"If I ever got the chance to make him go to them, yes. He despised them… and he also disliked voicemails."

"No wonder he lost his company." Richard's reply made Felicity's lips purse. "He sounds as irresponsible as he looked on T.V."

"I don't think that's really fair. There's more to losing his company than just some skipped meetings, Dick."

"It sounds pretty accurate to me. His lack of interest in his family's company led to him losing it. Nothing more, nothing less," Richard said without a hint of remorse. "The skipping meetings part only shows how easy it was for him to take the wrong steps – make the wrong choices. He spent half of the time at his night club, anyway. He should've spent more time at the office and less time getting drunk or sleeping with his co-CEO."

Felicity's eyes opened wide and she stole a quick glance at Diggle who was also as shocked as the blonde. It was very unlikely that the deceased co-CEO of Queen Consolidated had shared the details of her Russian rendezvous with Oliver, but it was also very unlikely that Dick Grayson personally knew Isabel Rochev. Felicity's research of her new boss had been a thorough one and she had found no link between any of Oliver's enemies and Grayson himself. How he had found out about Isabel and Oliver's one time of passion was beyond her.

"Oliver… he…" Felicity breathed hard to keep the actual words that wanted to come out from doing so. "He had other worries that not everyone knew about. And his mistake with Isabel was a one-time occurrence."

"Was it?" Dick asked and leaned closer to Felicity. "What other worries did he have?"

Felicity gulped as her eyes shifted from staring at Dick's questioning blue ones and then landed on the reflection of a worried-looking Diggle in the rear-view mirror. Grayson did not like closing the window between the driver's seat and the back of the limousine and it was in moments like these that the blonde was grateful for her boss's quirky choices.

"It's not for me to tell what happened with Oliver," she said with determination and was proud of her response. "All I can say is that people have judged him and his family without having all of the information readily available."

"You mean like when his mother plotted to destroy half of her own city?"

"Like that, yes."

"And _you_ have this information readily available?"

"Of course I do," her eyes landed on his again. "I was his assistant and his friend."

"And were you as efficient working with him as you have so far been with me?"

"Yes."

"Then why did he lose his company if he had you around?"

Felicity eyed her boss for another brief instant as she swallowed hard. She was not sure if his tone had been one of condescension or honest curiosity, but either way she did not like the way he had set her up. She stared him up and down a few times until she finally looked away from him and out the window to repeat her original response. "Not my story to tell."

Richard stared at Felicity in the same way she had done so not two seconds ago and after seeing how tense she looked, he decided to let go for now of the conversation that very much interested him – the story that had gotten him out from Gotham and had led him to Starling City in search for the truth.

"Anything else I should know about today's agenda?"

"No," she deadpanned, her eyes never leaving the scenery they drove by. "Nothing else to report."

"Alright," he said after a moment of silence. "Thank you, Ms. Smoak."

"You're welcome, Mr. Grayson."

Dick's hand hovered over hers but before he could touch her, he pulled back. He did not want to give her a false perception of him and of how he saw her, and he also definitely did not want to give out his cover before it was time to do so. The move was not lost to Diggle, however, and he mentally categorized the moment to later analyze in the company of his former billionaire friend. Despite his shortcomings, Diggle still trusted Oliver to be the man he needed to be for Felicity, and watching over his two friends was something John took very seriously.

Felicity remained silent for the rest of the ride, looking away from the window only when her phone chimed with the notification of an incoming text message. She replied to each one almost immediately, and even though she was happy with the silent conversation taking place via text, her face remained as neutral as ever. She did not want Dick to think she would take his unfounded criticism lightly, but she also did not want to blatantly tell off her new boss just yet.

She was having a difficult time determining whether or not Dick could be trusted and his latest comment about Oliver's inability to keep a job and her lack of proper support to make great things happen at QC was quickly preventing her from wanting to establish a true friendship with him. She was not desperate to be friends with Grayson, but she knew that if she wanted to suffer the least in her new position, she had to at least try to build some type of positive rapport with the man. She had been conflicted so far to say the least, but she hoped that the more she spent time with him, the easier her job would become.

"_Kitchen's packed!"_ Oliver's latest text read, and this time she could not keep the smile that crept up to her face from showing how glad she was to have Oliver around in her life. She replied with a _"Thank you. Gonna be late today,"_ and her smile grew even wider with his response.

"_I'll wait up with take out."_

Her fingers held her phone tightly as she was about to respond to his message but she never actually got the chance to say a thing. Diggle's voice warning them of the incoming impact and Dick Grayson's arms around her to pull her away from the hit the limousine was about to receive were the only two things she was able to make sense of before she passed out.

* * *

**A/N:** Thank you all for your reviews! If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't be updating this. I am both happy and nervous that this fic is turning out to be very similar to what the writers are starting to let us know Season 3 will be about. I wonder if I should continue it since it might sound repetitive and unoriginal even though I started it before the spoilers made their way to the fandom. What do you think? Should I keep going despite the similarities to the Season 3 plot line? Let me know!


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